A Bad Day at School
by Gavzilla
Summary: After Lan is incorrectly blamed for something he didn't do, Ms. Mari scolds him in front of the entire class and sentences him to two weeks detention. However, that day whilst he serves his first detention, he speaks to Ms. Mari about her being the judge, jury, and executioner. Despite them finding common ground, Lan still wants to know: Who did it?
1. The Crime

It was a study period for the ACDC 8th grade Middle School class. The sound of papers and books could be heard in conjunction with the buzzing of voices and small laughter. Ms. Mari was walking the classroom, answering any questions and simply chit-chatting with her students.

"Ow!" Ms. Mari flinched as a rubber-band hit the side of her face. She immediately looked to where the piece of rubber came from.

"Lan Hikari!" She shouted as she saw the boy, with shock in his eyes, standing from his desk, "I have had enough with all your childish hijinks!"

"Ms. Mari, that wasn't me! I didn't do it!" Lan tried to explain himself.

"Do not talk back to me, Hikari!" Ms. Mari continued to shout, "That will be a detention! After school! _Today!_ "

"But Ms. Mari! If you would listen—" Lan tried to rebut.

" _Do not talk back to me, Hikari!_ " Ms. Mari repeated. The class was completely silent. Everyone could see the fear on Lan's face. "Shall I extend your detention for the entire week?"

Lan continued to stand there, his face becoming red from embarrassment.

"You are almost a high schooler and yet here you are still playing these childish games!" Ms. Mari continued her harangue, "Sit down!"

"Ms. Mari, please—!" Lan continued to stay standing.

"Two weeks!" She replied, "With weekends!"

Lan sat down in his desk. Ms. Mari walked to the front of the room and addressed the class.

"I have had enough with all the immaturity in this class! You all are to-be high schoolers, and it is about time that you start acting like one!" Ms. Mari scolded, "From this point on, _all_ types of pranks and capers will be punishable! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am..." the class said, dimly.

"For the rest of the period I want to hear nothing but silence!" Ms. Mari commanded, "Your options are to either finish homework or read! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am..." the class repeated.

"Good." Ms. Mari walked back to her desk. Soon, every student was either working on homework or reading a book of their choice. All but Lan, who was seated with his head in his hands.

Ms. Mari looked up from her desk to check if all her students had followed her directions.

"Hikari, did you not hear what I said?" Ms. Mari said, "Work on homework or read a book."

"Ms. Mari, will you please listen to me!" Lan's voice sounded almost exhausted.

"The matter has already been settled!" Ms. Mari scolded, "One more word from you and I'll extended your punishment another week!" Lan gritted his teeth as he pulled out a simple text book from his desk and opened it to a random page.

Mayl tilted her head slightly in order to see how he was doing. His head was still in his hands, and she could tell that he wasn't reading. He was humiliated in front of the class over something he claimed he didn't do. Mayl didn't know if he was telling the truth or not; she wasn't paying attention when Lan allegedly launched the rubber-band. Be it truth or not, it didn't take a psychologist to see that Lan was hurting much on the inside.

The study period continued in silence. The only sounds that could be heard was the momentary turn of a page or drop of a pencil. Eventually the bell rang through the class: the period was over, and the next class was set to begin. Ms. Mari instructed her students to place all they were working on away in exchange for their Math books. The class followed her orders. Ms. Mari stood in front of the class and began her lesson.

Despite Lan following Ms. Mari's directions, Mayl knew that he wasn't paying attention. She argued with herself whether she should help him after school with this lesson. It was his fault that he wasn't paying attention, yet this behavior was completely abnormal for him. Lan was no stranger to after school detentions, and he would take responsibility for his punishment. But this time was different. Lan's objection to his punishment seemed genuine, and his body language reflected this irritated state.

Ms. Mari continued teaching her math lesson until a final bell indicated the end of the school day. On any other day, the sounds of backpacks and students shuffling out of their seats would dominate the room, Ms. Mari wishing everyone a good day as her students left the room. On this day, however, no one dared to leave their seat. The room was silent as they waited for Ms. Mari's command.

"That will be it for today." Ms. Mari said, "I wish you goodbye and I will see you all tomorrow." The normal sound of kids packing up to leave returned. It felt as though people were leaving faster than normal, taking quick peaks at Lan as he stayed seated.

"I can help you with your math homework tonight when you get home. If you want..." Mayl spoke quietly to Lan as she stood from her desk. Lan looked to her with a depressed look on his face and nodded. Mayl knew she couldn't do anything and left along with everyone else, leaving Lan alone with Ms. Mari.

"I'm sure you know the routine by now, Lan." Ms. Mari spoke, "I want this classroom swept and cleaned."

"Yes, ma'am." Lan said as he stood from his desk and walked to the classroom closet. He took hold of the broom and began to sweep the room.

"You're better than this, Lan..." Ms. Mari began to say, "I've seen you grow into a fine, mature young adult. Don't fall back into this immaturity."

"Yes, ma'am." Lan replied, dryly, not bothering to raise his head to her. Ms. Mari took notice but decide not to comment. He was upset. No need to make it worse than it already was.

The detention continued in silence. Ms. Mari sat at her desk correcting papers and Lan continuing to slowly sweep between the aisles and desks. She never experienced a detention like this with Lan. Although Ms. Mari knew she shouldn't, she would talk with him during his punishment. Sometimes she would be as bored as him, and starting a conversation was a way for both of them to relinquish their monotony. Ms. Mari began to second-guess whether she was right to punish Lan.

Soon, Lan was finished with cleaning the room with time to spare. He sat down in his desk, folded his hands, and sat there. Ms. Mari tried her best to not make eye-contact with the student. However, as she was going through today's homework, she noticed Lan's was missing. Wanting to test the water, she decided to ask Lan about the absent assignment.

"Lan, do you have today's assignment?" Ms. Mari asked, "I don't seem to have it."

"No." He replied, not moving from his hand-folded position.

"Do you want to check to make sure?" Ms. Mari said.

"No." Lan repeated.

"Are you sure?" Ms. Mari informed, "I'll mark it as missing and you'll get a zero."

"That's fine." Lan replied.

"Okay..." Ms. Mari said, marking Lan's assignment as missing. She continued to go through the rest of the homework. As she was moving some papers from her desk to her backpack, she noticed an assignment she must have dropped while correcting them; it was Lan's. He purposely rejected searching for his assignment and accepted a zero despite _knowing_ that he handed it in. She debated whether to confront him about this. Maybe it was time to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

"I found your assignment, Lan." Ms Mari said, holding up his homework, "Why did you lie and accept a zero?"

"You asked if I had the homework." Lan replied, "And I said no."

"Then you should have said that you turned it in." Ms. Mari said.

"I thought you wouldn't listen." Lan replied. Ms. Mari sat there, thinking of her reply. Clearly, this situation would not be resolved if she would not let Lan explain his side of the story.

"What happened today, Lan?" Ms. Mari asked.

"What about today?" Lan replied.

"I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself." Ms. Mari said, sternly, "Don't ruin your chance."

Lan sat there, quietly. Finally, he spoke.

"I was sitting at my desk doing nothing when I was struck in the side by a rubber-band." Lan explained, "I turned to see who flicked it. Unfortunately, you came and stood in my way so I needed to move.

"I grabbed a piece of trash from my desk and pretended to throw it away in order to get a better line of sight." Lan continued, "When you finally turned, I pulled back the rubber-band but it broke. I threw both of them away and walked back to my seat.

"I don't know who flicked the rubber-band that hit you." Lan concluded, "I wasn't paying attention when I walked back to my desk."

"Why were you trying to launch the rubber-band to begin with?" Ms. Mari questioned, "You know well that I banned that act during sixth grade."

"Because I was just trying to have a little fun." Lan replied, "But that didn't justify the punishment that you gave me."

"Then you should have sat down and come and talk with me either directly after school or during your detention time." Ms. Mari explained, "That was no time to try and explain yourself."

Lan sat there quietly, still with his hands folded on top of his desk.

"Can I be honest with you, Ms. Mari?" Lan asked.

"Of course." Ms. Mari replied.

"You made an example out of me in front of the entire class." Lan said, "You gave me a detention on the spot and accused me of a crime that I didn't do.

"Can you honestly tell me that _any_ student in my position would not have tried to explain themselves?" Lan asked, "They would have not talked back to you in the fashion I had?"

Ms. Mari sat there for a moment, contemplating.

"The biggest reason why I'm so upset, Ms. Mari," Lan continued, "Was because you acted as a judge, jury, and executioner. I understand that you were upset, and I was fine with receiving the first detention, but the fact that you decided to increase my punishment all because I was trying to explain myself was completely unjustified."

"I will give you that I let my anger get the best of me." Ms. Mari said, "But I still stand by my reaction. Given the information that I know now, I would not have reacted the way I did; but, given the information I knew _then_ , I acted what I deemed appropriate.

"You see, Lan, as a teacher you sometimes need to do things in order to portray your dominance in the class, especially with middle schoolers like yourselves." Ms. Mari explained, "The worst think you can do with a class is allow them to get _too_ comfortable."

"So you used me as an example..." Lan said.

"Most teachers would have done what I did, Lan." Ms. Mari said. She looked at the watch on her hand.

"Your detention is up. You're free to go." Ms. Mari said, "I will not hold you to the two weeks of detention. Also, I will not count this detention that you served."

Lan stood from his desk and began to walk to the door.

"Also, Lan," Ms. Mari spoke up. Lan turned and faced her.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong in my punishment, and I will try to ensure that I do not embarrass anyone one like that in class again."

"Thank you, Ms. Mari." Lan smiled for the first time since the incident, "I appreciate it."

* * *

It may not seem like it, but a second chapter is coming! So... stay tuned?


	2. History of the Rubber Wars

Edit (July 25th, 2018): Fixed the title of the chapter so it's correctly aligned with the middle of the page. It was really ticking me off. Hopefully, if you were spammed with emails regarding my changing / updating this story, you forgive me.

* * *

History of the Rubber Wars

Rubber-band wars: the newest fad that conquered the ACDC Middle School 8th grade class. This "game" came to be thanks to the antics of Lan and Dex. This was not the first year that this game was introduced; no! This game was actually introduced during their _sixth_ grade year. It all started when Dex had the excellent idea of trying to snipe Lan with a rubber-band from where he sat in class. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on whose perspective you choose), it was a direct hit to the back of the head! Lan turned in extreme annoyance to find Dex trying to conceal his laughter from his seat. This provoked Lan into trying to fire back, causing them to act out their rivalry whenever possible during class.

Of course, the entire class bore witness to their hijinks, and soon enough other students joined them in their rubber-band crusades. Whenever the teacher wasn't around, or an opportunity showed itself to launch a rubber-band, the entire class wasn't safe. Particular shooters (including Lan and Dex) would jump into action and a cloud of rubber would fly across the room trying to hit their selected targets. There were casualties (Mayl wasn't to pleased with the stray rubber-band to the back of the head every now and again), but that was a risk they were willing to take. The "Rubber War", as the class eventually dubbed this era in their history, was ended once Ms. Mari started to notice an enormous increase in rubber-bands she would find on the floor and in other unusual places.

However, the ultimate victor of the Rubber War was argued for years to come. Ms. Mari ended the War when alliances were being formed; therefore, no specific side was able to emerge as a clear winner. This caused tension in the class. Dex unofficially declared himself (and in conjunction his alliances) the winner, stating that he had the most "confirmed kills". Lan argued otherwise, stating that _he_ and his alliances were the winner because not only were they "killed the least" throughout the entire War, but also because _they_ were the ones that had the most "confirmed kills" against Dex and his allies.

Public opinion did not treat Dex's army in favour. The argument for the winner was eventually infiltrated by civilians who only witnessed, not participated in, the Rubber War. These recountings of the War were in great approval of Lan's military might while painting Dex's forces as intolerable. This ultimately swung Public Opinion in favor of Lan's Army being the eventual winner of the Rubber War. Dex (along with other leaders) took great offense and issue with this decision, citing that favoritism played too much of a part in deducing a winner. Despite these efforts, the decision stood: Lan won the Rubber War.

By the end of sixth grade year, and throughout all of seventh grade, the Rubber War was thought to be nothing but the past. The tension from this encounter was dispersed by other dramas and happenings that occurred throughout the year. (Another factor was the convenient shortage of rubber bands in the class, forcing students to user rubber-bands from their own home.)

However, eighth grade was the year when the rubber-bands would return. Beginning with Dex (all things begin with Dex), he was the first to reintroduce rubber-bands back into classroom environment. Soon, others were very quick to jump back on the rubber wagon. This wasn't quite a war, yet. People were being targeted, and rubber bands were flying, but it was not at a rate that was equivalent to that of the original Rubber War. This brief period of history was called the "Preamble" (some student in class read the definition and thought it was fitting).

Those in class thought that a second rubber war, "Rubber War II", was beginning. The students were getting much more daring in their attacks, not even waiting for Ms. Mari to leave the room. A rubber-band or two would fly behind her back as she would walk the classroom and she wouldn't even notice! The students learned from their past mistake and those who participated began to pick-up the rubber-bands after themselves, hiding any evidence of scrimmage.

The Preamble came to a halting end after Dex realligned with his previous teammates, calling themselves the "Vendetta League", and planned an attack on not just Lan and all the others who participated in the Preamble, but also the entire class. It was a world war, if you will, that Dex and the others were undertaking.

The day came when it was time to strike. Ms. Mari left the room for some quick errand, and Dex looked to his teammates to give the signal. In a matter of seconds, the familiar cloud of rubber-bands flew across the room. This time, no one was safe. All of those who weren't aligned with Dex received no mercy. It was at this moment that everyone knew Rubber War II had begun.

With the alliances of old reformed, referring to themselves as the "Victory Alliance", Lan carried out a counter attack against Dex, suffering many casualties. Dex, with most of his soldiers in the back of the room, was a difficult target to strike. Not only did they have the frontal advantage, but they also had civilians sitting amongst them. Lan and his forces respected neutrality, and tried there best to avoid civilian casualties (not to mention that most of them threatened to tell Ms. Mari about what they were doing if they hit).

Unfortunately, due to Ms. Mari's punishing Lan for his what she called "capers", the Victor Alliance lost their general, leaving them unorganized and unprepared for another attack. Luckily, the Vendetta League issued a temporary cease fire until further notice. However, knowing their previous track record with peace, it probably will not last long.

* * *

Lan walked home much happier than before. He was glad about the talk he had with Ms. Mari and was pleased that she vindicated him and did not hold this detention against him. However, he still wanted to know who originally launched the rubber-band that hit Ms. Mari and why they didn't speak up.

As he walked into his home, he saw a note on the counter. His mom had gone to Scilab for something relating to his father and will be home later that night. Typical for him to be left alone like this every once and a while. Not long after he finished reading the note he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Lan." Mayl greeted as he opened the door.

"Hey, Mayl." Lan smiled, opening the door wider for her to enter.

"I saw you from my window and wanted to come over and see if you're okay." Mayl asked, noticing the bear kitchen and living room, "You were pretty upset when I left."

"I'm better now." Lan said, "Thanks for catching up with me."

"Did you talk with Ms. Mari?" Mayl asked.

"Yeah." Lan explained, "I explained myself and she apologized for what she did."

"So she dropped all the detentions?" Mayl asked.

"Yeah." Lan smiled, "She also told me that she'll try her best to not do something like that again."

"I'm glad that you were able to talk it out with her." Mayl smiled, "But you didn't hit her with the rubber-band, right?"

"No!" Lan said, "I was just walking back to my desk when it happened."

"I didn't see who did it." Mayl said, "I was doing school work."

"I didn't either." Lan said.

"I talked with Yai and Dex and said the same thing."

"Dang!" Lan said, "But I want to know who did it!"

"And what are you going to do?" Mayl said, "You're not usually the one that goes for revenge."

"I don't want to do anything like that." Lan said, "I just want to know who did it, you know? Maybe I can recruit them to my forces for the war."

"You guys and that dumb game..." Mayl chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"It's not a _game_ , Mayl!" Lan informed, "It's a _war_!"

"Well, if you get caught while fighting in this 'war', then you most certainly won't get out the punishment like you did this time." Mayl said.

"I know that..." Lan replied, "But do you think the original culprit targeted Ms. Mari on purpose?"

"I'm pretty sure it was just a mistake." Mayl said.

"The person had to be sitting by us..." Lan began to think aloud, "Someone had to see this guy, right?"

"You're going to try and track him down, aren't you?" Mayl asked.

"Of course!" Lan said, "He could be of use!"

"And how are you going to do that?" Mayl said.

"I'll ask the people that sit by us." Lan explained.

"And you think they'll tell you?" Mayl said, "They probably think you're out to get them!"

"Hmm..." Lan thought, "You're right. We can't ask any of the students, at least not yet..."

"'We'?" Mayl said.

"Of course!" Lan smiled, "You're going to be my partner in this investigation!"

"What?" Mayl asked, "I don't want to get wrapped up in all this!"

"Come on!" Lan tried to persuade, "I'll be fun! We can be our own Holmes and Watson!"

Mayl smiled lightly seeing Lan energized like this.

"Fine..." Mayl caved.

"Yes!" Lan celebrated.

Mayl's smile extended further seeing Lan's happiness.

"How are we going to track this person down if we can't ask any of the students, o Sherlock?" Mayl asked.

"Hmm..." Lan stopped his celebration and began to think, "If we can't ask any students... then we'll talk to Ms. Mari!"

"Lan, she didn't see the culprit, either." Mayl said, "Remember?"

"We need to start somewhere, don't we?" Lan asked.

"Well... I guess..." Mayl answered.

"Then it's a deal! Tomorrow, after school, we'll talk to Ms. Mari!" Lan proclaimed.

Mayl chuckled. He was enjoying this _way_ too much.

"Now that we got that over with..." Mayl said, "I brought my math stuff over if you still need help with it..."

"Yes, please! But..." Lan stopped.

"But what?" Mayl asked.

"Could... um..." Lan struggled, "Could you make dinner?"

"What?" Mayl laughed, "You make me your partner and all of a sudden I have to make dinner?"

"No!" Lan said, "It's just that my parents aren't home and mom didn't leave me anything..."

"At least take me on a date first..." Mayl teased, walking into the kitchen.

"My parents aren't home!" Lan explained once more, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"I'm just teasing, Lan..." Mayl laughed, "What would you like me to make...?"


	3. There Was a Second What, Now?

Here's to chapter three! Lot of dialogue in this chapter, lacking some of the paragraphness you may find in other, "higher produced" fanfics on this site (see my story "Bashfulness" for not only a shameful plug, but also as an example for what I speak of). I've reduced my verboseness exponentially in this story, copying my older style of writing (see my other story "High School Drama" for not only an additional shameful plug, but also for an example of where the story is really only restricted to dialogue and basic facial expressions and movements) which can be seen in the previous two chapters as well.

Anyway, simply click the "A +" setting at the top of the page to increase the font size. Click that a couple times until the sentences become at-a-glance paragraphs for you to read. That should fix this issue! :)

* * *

There was a second _what_ , now?

The end of the school day came faster than expected for Lan. The whole class began to pack their things and leave. Everyone instead for Lan and Mayl. They waited until is was just them and Ms. Mari.

"Lan, Mayl, what are you still doing here?" Ms. Mari asked, noticing them standing at their desks.

"We're here to ask you some questions regarding yesterday's incident." Lan said, walking up to Ms. Mari's desk.

"Lan, didn't we already settle this yesterday during your detention?" Ms. Mari replied, "Let me speak with Mayl first, so we can discuss this in private if you really want to."

"That won't be necessary." Lan said, "Mayl's my partner in all this."

"Partner?" Ms. Mari asked, "Well it's about time you guys—"

"Not _that_ type of partner, Ms. Mari!" Lan said, "My _investigative_ partner!"

"'Investigative partner'?" Ms. Mari said, slightly chuckling as she looked to Mayl, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"I guess." Mayl shrugged back, "I already made him dinner, so..."

"Look!" Lan interrupted "I just want to ask you a few question revolving around what happened yesterday. Will you humour us?"

"This isn't about my disciplining you or anything, right?" Ms. Mari asked.

"No!" Lan said, "This is just about what you saw."

"Fine." Ms. Mari said, "I'll humour you."

"Great!" Lan turned to Mayl, "Would you please write down her responses?"

"What? You never said I needed to do anything like that!" Mayl complained.

"Come on!" Lan pleaded, "Please? We may need to refer to them later on during our investigation!"

"And what if we don't?" Mayl asked, "I don't want to waste notebook paper."

"Here..." Lan said, opening his backpack, "You can use one of mine."

Mayl let out a mild sigh as she stared at the notebook he held out in front of her.

"Fine." Mayl finally caved, opening up the notebook to a blank page.

"Great!" Lan repeated, turning back to a smiling Ms. Mari.

"You guys are a show, you know that?" Ms. Mari said.

"Ms. Mari, please!" Lan placed a serious look his face, "We need your complete and fullest attention!"

"Well then you better hurry because my shift ends in about thirty minutes." Ms. Mari replied.

"Can you explain to me what you were during yesterday during third period?" Lan asked.

"Third period yesterday was study hall." Ms. Mari informed, "During study hall I generally walk the class and answer any questions that my students may have. I was doing this exact thing yesterday, no exception."

"And during third period of yesterday, could you explain the incident that occured?" Lan said.

"Well, I was walking around the classroom when I saw a student with a question. I walked over to their desk, which was located in the third row, second column, and was struck on my left cheek by a rubber-band."

"I appreciate the specific replies!" Lan said, "Are you getting all this, Mayl?"

"The things I do for you, Lan..." Mayl rolled her eyes and she continued to write in the notebook.

"This is where you were standing, correct, Ms. Mari?" Lan asked as he stood inherspoken coordinates: third row, second column.

"Exactly where I stood." Ms. Mari confirmed.

"Mayl, let the record show that there are five rows and three columns located within the classroom of Class 8-A." Lan commanded, "Are you getting all this?"

"I'm making do..." Mayl said, looking down at the notebook, "Give me a second."

"Okay..." Lan said.

There was a moment of silence.

"Okay." Mayl said, "You may continue."

"Now, according to your testimony," Lan began, "Your left cheek was facing the front of the classroom, is that correct?"

"Yes. However, I was standing to the left of the desk, not in front." Ms. Mari corrected.

"Thank you." Lan moved in order to align with Ms. Mari's description, "So you were standing here when you were struck?"

"Yes." Ms. Mari affirmed.

"And, for the sake of detail, you possibly flinched your head to the right,... right?" Lan asked.

"Actually..." Ms. Mari sat in a state of ponder, "I remember my head going back and to the left."

"What!?" Lan dramatized, "Back and to the left?"

"From what I recall, yes." Ms. Mari repeated, "It was then when I saw you standing from your seat."

"This isn't possible..." Lan began to think aloud, "Back and to the left?"

"If Ms. Mari was struck on the left cheek," Mayl spoke up, "Her head would have went right, would it not?"

"Exactly!" Lan said, "In order for the rubber-band to have made Ms. Mari's head go back and to the left, it would have had to hit her on the front, right side of her face."

"But I most obviously felt the rubber-band hit my _left_ cheek." Ms. Mari repeated, "This is quite an obvious fact!"

"But that simply would not be possible!" Lan argued, "In order to create that reaction, the rubber-band would have had to strike your left cheek, bounce to the front of your face, _stop_ in mid air, and finally strike the right side of your face with enough force to push your head back and to the left.

"That," Lan concluded, "Is one magic rubber-band..."

"That seems quite preposterous!" Ms. Mari said, "I'm sure there is a simpler explanation as for why my head acted the way it did."

"Hmm..." Lan thought, "Maybe...

"Yes...!" Lan's face shined bright, "Yes! That is the obvious answer!

"What are you thinking, Lan?" Mayl asked.

"In order for Ms. Mari to have acted the way she did," Lan started, "She must have been hit by _two_ rubber-bands!"

"What?" Ms. Mari and Mayl stated in unison.

"Yes!" Lan reaffirmed, "There must have been a second flicker!"

"A second _what_!?" Mayl asked in even more astonishment.

"But, Lan," Ms. Mari objected, "I only felt _one_ rubber-band, not two!"

"I know..." Lan admitted, "I'm still trying to work that out..."

"Well, I think it's ridiculous to think that there were two 'flickers', as you put it." Mayl spoke up.

"Mayl!" Lan whined, "You're supposed to be on _my_ side!"

"I'm just being truthful with you, Lan." Mayl said, "Besides, how is any of this going to help us find who launched the original rubber-band? We're creating more questions than we are answers through all this."

"Is this what all this is about?" Ms. Mari asked, "You're trying to find the original culprit?"

"Well..." Lan hesitated, "That motive has now changed..."

"What are you talking about?" Ms. Mari said.

"Originally, we just wanted to learn who the original offender was." Lan explained, "But now... a greater conspiracy has made itself known..."

"Your letting your imagination run, Lan." Ms. Mari said, "What is done, is done."

"I disagree, Ms. Mari." Lan objective, "What is done, has just begun. And I think the Vendetta League is behind this..."

"The Vendetta what?" Ms. Mari asked.

"Ugh... Thanks for answering our questions, Ms. Mari!" Lan said, "But it's time for us to go! Come on, Mayl!"

Lan began to trot out the room and his footsteps could be heard down the hall, leaving Ms. Mari and Mayl a little surprised and his quick exit. They looked at each other for a moment, hoping to make sense of the situation.

"'Investigative partner', huh?" Ms. Mari spoke, "At least you're working your way up..."

"I already made him dinner..." Mayl shrugged in reply, closing the notebook in her hands.

"You'll get through to him, Mayl." Ms. Mari supported, "I'd say you're pretty close as it is."

"Thanks, Ms. Mari." Mayl said.

"Mayl," Lan said, sticking his head around the frame of the door, "Usually when I leave, you leave, too."

"I'm coming, honey..." Mayl said over her shoulder.

"Don't get all mushy on me now, Mayl." Lan said, "I need you at your top concentration!"

Mayl shared a smile with Ms. Mari before turning and leaving with Lan.

* * *

"Lan," Mayl spoke as the two were walking home, "Are you really serious about the whole 'second shooter' thing?"

"Of course!" Lan replied, "I'm beginning to think that this whole thing wasn't just any accident..."

"But how is it possible for Ms. Mari to not feel the second rubber-band?" Mayl asked, "And furthermore, how could any given two eighth grade students choreograph something as stupid and risky as flinging two rubber-bands at Ms. Mari? And for what reason?

"Mayl, you're asking a lot of questions right now." Lan said, "I'm going to need you limit your questioning to a one question, one answer policy."

"But you should to able to answer those questions if your theory is true." Mayl argued.

"Look," Lan said, "I'm not quite able to answer the 'How', but I do believe I'm able to answer the 'Why'."

"Then what's your answer?" Mayl asked.

"To remove me from the Rubber War!" Lan said.

"Are you serious?" Mayl asked, "You think all of this originated because your stupid game?"

"It isn't a _game_ , Mayl!" Lan said, "It's a _war_! And, yes! I believe that as the general of the Victory Alliance, I was sabotaged by the Vendetta League."

"So, what happens now?" Mayl said, "If the Vendetta League is truly responsible for this, what are you going to do?"

"I'm... I'm still trying to figure that out." Lan said.

"Well..." Mayl said, reaching their homes, "I'll let you ponder that for the night."

"Um... Mayl?" Lan said, stopping Mayl, "My parents aren't home again today..."

Mayl chuckled on the sidewalk. She knew where this was going.

"Do you want me to make you dinner again?" Mayl asked.

"Please?" Lan pleaded.

Mayl stood for a moment debating whether she would accept Lan's beg. However, she already knew the answer.

"Fine..." Mayl smiled, turning to walk towards Lan's house, "What would you like me to make, Lan...?"


End file.
